I would say there are no words to describe the horrors of this child prison in Brownsville, TX, but that’s not true. Really, there are no printable words that can do justice to this unconscionably evil center of injustice.
The video and photos, which ran on MSNBC and Twitter tonight, are not easy to look at. But it’s absolutely necessary. There are 1500 boys ages 10-17 who are more or less incarcerated in an old Walmart, all because their parents wanted to give them a better life. It’s horrifying.
There are more on Soboroff’s Twitter feed. That Trump mural alone should be enough to inspire mass outrage. He acts like Hitler more and more every day. And it’s important to note that things will only get worse. This camp is run by a licensed non-profit; it won’t take a license to run the tent cities that Trump and Sessions want to build to imprison kids. Tent cities is actually too kind — without air conditioning in brutal southwestern summers, they’re going to be more like concentration camps.
There are so many things we have to do to fix this situation, both this November and in the long-term. First and foremost, we need to fight these issues in the courts and the court of public opinion.
HERE is a way to donate to several organizations doing just that, including the Women’s Refugee Commission and We Belong Together.
We need systemic changes in our government and in our national attitude. More immediately, we have to call our lawmakers and demand action. And we need to fight to overthrow the lawmakers who bask in these deplorable conditions.
A few weeks back, I highlighted some of the lawmakers, both nationally and in Texas, who we need to try to dispose of this November. Steve King — known Nazi-sympathizer — is one of them. Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado is next in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security with Rep. Raul Labrador retiring to run for governor of Idaho. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas is the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Committee. They’re all in favor of the Border Wall and have not complained one bit about Sessions’ immigration policy — in fact, they openly support it.
Look at what Buck said about separating children from their parents:
I think it’s unfortunate when families are separated. But it’s also unfortunate when families make a decision to break the law [by coming here.] And there are consequences in this country. We are a country of rule – a country of laws. And we believe in the rule of law. And I think it’s just a sad reality that there is going to be some unfortunate separation of individuals when crimes are committed.
McCaul, meanwhile, introduced an immigration bill last year that massively expanded detention space. He also supports parental separation.
Luckily, all of these GOP bigots have great Democratic challengers.
Buck represents Colorado’s fourth district, and he has an excellent opponent in Karen McCormick, a veterinarian and community leader who has also come out strong for gun control — Buck is one of the NRA’s top beneficiaries. She’s on Buck about parental separation:
King’s opponent, J.D. Scholten, has mostly been dealing with King’s love of neo-Nazis, and has done so without hesitation or equivocation:
McCaul has also come out against family separation and building a wall:
You can support those candidates on Progressives Everywhere’s ActBlue Page (just select their names when making a donation).